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SOME PROBLEMS IN JAINA PSYCHOLOGY
die away. When Gautama, the Buddha, attained enlightenment, he wanted his enlightenment not to be known to others. But Brahmā descended to the earth and inspired the Buddha to be the teacher of mankind, the teacher of the beings of this world and heaven. This stage is the stage of jīvanmūkti. And this is the stage of sayoga kevali of the tirthankarus, ganadharas and sāmānya kevalins when they preached their sublime knowledge to the people of this world, Zimmer compares this attitude of the kevalins to the function of the lamp. Just as the lamp that lights the room remains unconcerned with what is going on in it, so the self enacts the rôle of 'lighting the phenomenal expersonality solely for the maintenance of the body, not for the pursuit of any good, any gratification of the sense or any kindly goal.26
(14) The final stage of self-realization is the stage of absolute perfection. It is the stage of absolute liberation without any empirical activity attached to it. This stage is called ayoga kevali. Here, all the remaining karmas are also destroyed. Before entering into the final stage of absolute purity and liberation, the soul appears to prepare its way for the stoppage of all activity both gross and subtle. This stoppage of activity requires another activity as an instrument. The soul stops the gross activity of the sense organs and the activity of speech, mind and body. Then it stops the subtle activity of the mind, speech and body, like the physiological processes of respiration and digestion. Then the soul enters into the third stage of sukla-dhyāna, which is infallible and leads to the final liberation directly and immediately. At this level of śukla-dhyāna, even the subtle physiological activities and the subtle activities of the mind and body are stopped. The self becomes as motionless as a rock, being devoid of all bodily speech and mental activity. This is the highest stage of śukla-dhyāna.27 With the remaining karmas eliminated, the highest perfection is reached. Hence this is called ayoga kevali. The self has attained peaceful perfection. The influx of karma is completely stopped and the self is freed from all karmic dust.28 This state lasts only for a period of time required to pronounce five short syllables. At the end of this period the soul attains disembodied liberation. This state of ayoga kevali is also described as the state of Parabrahma or Niranjana.
Of the fourteen stages of self-development thus described, it is said that the gods and those who dwell in hell can attain the first four of the guṇasthānas. They can get the vision of Truth. They can know what is right. But they cannot make the moral effort required for attaining the truth. The lower animals in this world can rise to the fifth stage of deśavirata. Moral effort is possible to some extent. We get an account
26. Zimmer (I.): Philosophies of India, Ed. by Campbell. p.446. 27 Dhyānasataka, 82. 28 Gommatasara; Jivakānda,
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